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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span style='font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Dear Dr. Jackson,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'>It has come to my attention that Mr. Bilal’s
art exhibition has been shut down due to controversy. It must be
difficult as a university administrator to make the right call on such
matters. It seems a very good thing that Mr. Bilal’s art is
concerned with communicating in part that we are in fact NOT at war with <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region> but with the insurgents in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>, some of
which are Iraqi. I realize that such distinctions are fairly moot when it
comes to funding issues that concern RPI let alone public opinion.
Isn’t it sad that our society isn’t big enough in spirit to
tolerate outspoken artists anymore?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Maybe you could reconsider and re-open Mr.
Bilal’s exhibition with some sort of disclaimer-- without hurting his
right of free speech and our right to take his art seriously or not. Is
his art really such a threat or are you perhaps showing too much fear of open
discourse on difficult subjects? Until now, I thought RPI was a
progressive institution. Please reconsider. You don’t have to be a
part of a scared, repressive force in our country. You can be a
peacemaker, a truthteller, a light for us all.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Thank you,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Abbie Conant<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=5 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
18.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Prof. Abbie Conant</span></font><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://www.osborne-conant.org"><font face=Arial><span
lang=EN-US style='font-family:Arial'>www.osborne-conant.org</span></font></a></span></font><span
lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Arial><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Musikhochschule Trossingen</span></font><span
lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span lang=EN-US
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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